Jo Kuffour
|apps =130 (32) |dob =17 November 1981 |birthplace =Edmonton, London |height =5 ft 7 in |pos =Forward |datejoined =29 August 2008 |joinedfrom =AFC Bournemouth |dateleft =12 January 2012 |leftto =Gillingham |clubs =Arsenal Swindon Town Torquay United Brentford AFC Bournemouth Bristol Rovers Gillingham }} Jo Kuffour, full name Jonathan Osei-Kuffour, is a striker who joined Rovers from AFC Bournemouth on 29 August 2008. Kuffour is of Ghanaian decent, and was called up to the Ghana squad in February 2007 for an international friendly against Nigeria played at Brentford's Griffin Park. As he was a Brentford player at the time, this may have been an effort to drum up interest in the game amongst Bees fans, as he was not even included on the bench when the game was played. On joining Rovers illness prevented him from making his debut for the first two games after his arrival. He finally made his first appearance in a Rovers shirt on 6 September 2008, when he came on as a substitute for Darryl Duffy in a remarkable 5-4 defeat against Peterborough United, which was televised live on Sky Sports. His first start for the Pirates came in his third game, a 2-1 defeat at Cheltenham Town. He scored his first goal for the club just four days later in a 2-2 draw against Yeovil Town. He was a regular fixture in the first team, and although his goalscoring record never set the world alight, he kept his place in the team for his first three seasons in Bristol. In the summer of 2011 he expressed a desire to leave Rovers so that he could return home to London, and although a number of offers came in for his services, none were from clubs in the capital and so he rejected them all. After playing a part in the first five games of the 2011–12 he was then dropped from the squad, resulting in him training with the youth team, until joining Gillingham on loan on 30 September in a deal that became permanent during the January 2012 transfer window. Career After starting out with Arsenal, where he was an FA Youth Cup winner in 2000, his first taste of senior football came at Swindon Town, where he was loaned during the 2001–02 season. He joined Torquay United in 2002, having failed to make an impact on the Arsenal first team, and he immediately established himself as a first team regular, playing almost 150 league games during his four-year stay. He joined Brentford in 2006 and moved to AFC Bournemouth a year later, before signing for Rovers in late August 2008. He joined Gillingham on a free transfer in January after having had a spell on loan with them, but was released at the end of the season. He found himself without a club at the start of the 2012–13 campaign, eventually managing to get himself a short-term deal with Wycombe Wanderers at the end of August 2012. He impressed during this spell, and he was rewarded with a two-year contract just a week after joining them. Career stats Record against Rovers Jo has got a very good record when playing against Rovers. In nine games against the Pirates he has scored four goals and won five of those games, losing only twice. Video *Video of Jo Kuffour scoring for Brentford (no audio) Category:Players Category:Forwards Category:17 November Category:Players born in 1981 Category:Players who joined in 2008 Category:Arsenal Category:Swindon Town Category:Torquay United Category:Brentford Category:AFC Bournemouth Category:50+ league appearances Category:100+ league appearances Category:Gillingham Category:Wycombe Wanderers